Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Colorful Chicken Salad Recipe

There is something so uplifting and cheerful about colorful food. Somehow it nourishes the soul and body just by looking at it. This Colorful Chicken Salad Recipe is easy to prepare, and depending on your dressing a very healthy and sustainable lunch. But above all, it's delicious. I made this salad, this past weekend.

What I like about it is that you can add any vegetables you have on hand, and mix and match to your liking. That's what it's all about in a salad. The chicken stays juicy and has a great brown crust that is made by a dark soy sauce marinade in which the chicken stays in. If you are on the lookout for a delicious chicken salad, then look no further, this is it. You can eat it as a side dish, put it in sandwiches or (as I have at the end) simply eat it out of the bowl.

click on the images for a bigger view

These are the ingredients I used:

- 1 medium sized red bell pepper, deseeded and chopped

- 6-7 spring onions, chopped

- 10 small radishes, sliced

- 1/2 cup (5 tbsp) corn (i used canned corn)

- 1/2 cup (5 tbsp) pitted black olives, sliced

- 4 medium sized pickles, chopped

- 2 chicken breasts

- salt and pepper- 2-3 tbsp dark soy sauce- 2-3 tbsp vegetable oil

- 1/2 cup (5 tbsp) mayonnaise

1. Prepare your fresh vegetables. You want to wash them, dry them of any excess water, and then slice to your liking. I like everything chopped up into small pieces, or at least uniformed in size. But hey it's a salad, don't get your ruler out.

2.Also prepare the canned goods. In this particular recipe I used canned corn, black olives and pickles.

3. Mix the vegetables together in a big bowl. We will then move on to the chicken.

4. Prepare and season the chicken. First up, cut the chicken breasts into thinner slices. I then used chicken stock powder to season the chicken filets, but you can also use salt and pepper. Don't over salt it, because we will be using some soy sauce in the marinade, which is also salty.

5. Add the soy sauce and oil to the chicken. I used a dark soy sauce, but you can also use any other you have on hand. After you mix in the oil, let it sit for 5 minutes and then go on to step 6.

6. Fry the chicken on medium heat, until it's cooked through. I don't add any extra oil to my non-stick pan, since the marinade has already oil in it. But your pan sticks, maybe add a tablespoon or two of oil in the pan as well. Fry on medium heat, don't put the heat on high since the soy sauce will burn, but the chicken will develop dark color. I like to take the chicken out and wrap it in some aluminum foil, so that it stays juicy and then I use the juices that are left in the foil later on in my dressing.

7. Chop up the cooked chicken into bite sized peaces and add them to your salad. For here you have many options for a dressing. You can add some olive oil and lemon, a classic vinaigrette or a light yogurt dressing.

I added 3 tbsp of mayonnaise (you can use light mayo as well) and some of the cooking juices from the pan after the chicken was cooked. Mix everything thoroughly and serve it up!

We ate it with some fresh bread on the side and maybe you can serve a nice iced tea with it as well. It's a perfect lunch, and you can even keep it (without the dressing) in an airtight container in your fridge for a couple of days, and use as much as you need.

I eat lots of salads but making mixed salads like that for one person is difficult and, whilst my Family in New Zealand ate lots of mixed salads when I made them, when I have friends for dinner here that's not 'dinner' food. However you have inspired me to discover circumstances whereby I can make that sort of food again. Now. Where do I start.....?

As I said, this keeps well in the fridge, without the dressing. So you can make the vegetable mixture and chicken and keep it in an airtight container and munch on it through a couple of days. You can make a dressing separately and keep it in the fridge as well, and add it to your salad when you want to.